Barrington schools balk at teacher cutbacks

Board members for Barrington's School District 220 have officially put a balanced 2001-02 budget out of reach by voting to renew teaching contracts for almost all non-tenured teachers.

The 4-3 vote Monday took place after a second push by board President Jane Hansen to send non-renewal notices to more than 100 teachers. Hansen said although many of the teachers would have been rehired eventually, sending out the notification letters now would have given administrators some flexibility to examine programs and, if necessary, make cuts that could have led to a balanced budget.

The deadline to send non-renewal notices to non-tenured teachers in District 220 is Friday. But board members John Roselli, Edith Auchter, Tom Krettler and Jeff Nordquist, who voted to renew the contracts, all said they preferred to pay the bills through deficit spending of between $1.5 million and $2 million for the next fiscal year.

Nordquist said cutting programs until a referendum measure could be passed next year would have long-term negative repercussions. "Restarting a program would take time," he said. "You can't just turn these things on and off like a light switch."

Disappointed by the vote, Supt. Mary Herrmann said her administration now will try to craft a 2001-02 budget that dips into the district's $6 million fund balance as little as possible.

A combination of non-renewals and pay-to-participate fees could lead to a balanced budget, but unless positions are eliminated there will definitely be a deficit," she said.

Hansen agreed with Herrmann and said deficit spending should be avoided. "We're sending a bad message to the community when we don't live within our means," she said. "We have heard repeatedly from the community that we need to live within our means."

Because the district's fund balance is likely to go below $6 million, the district will remain on the state's technical assistance list in 2001-02. School districts are put on that list when their fund balance dips below 10 percent of their annual expenditures. District 220 will remain on the assistance list until it reaches a fund balance of approximately $7 million.

Districts with a zero or negative fund balance are placed on the state watch list. Districts on the watch list must submit their budgets to the State Board of Education, which compels the school boards to do whatever is necessary to balance their budgets.

The District 22 board directed Herrmann to bring it a budget that maintained current programs and kept staffing at current or state-mandated levels. The board also told administrators to defer capital improvements when possible and to seek life-safety funds to pay for roofing and air-circulation projects that board members said have become safety issues.